They are the two best tennis players of the year, the undisputed number one in the WTA ranking and the five, who will finish the US Open as the two. Therefore, it makes sense that both star in the final of the championship, a final of height, of vertigo. Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur will meet for their first US Open title. It would be the third Grand Slam victory for the Pole, who already has two Roland Garros (2020 and 2022) to her credit. For the Tunisian, the first African finalist in the history of the tournament, it would mean her first Grand Slam score, after having brushed glory at Wimbledon earlier this year and ultimately lost to Elena Rybakina.
Jabeur, a confessed fan of Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, was the first to sign up for the final fight for the championship. She did it this morning, after getting rid of the French Caroline Garcia on the fast track (6-1, 6-3). It took her a little more than an hour to overcome the number 17 in the world, who arrived in a great moment of form (13 consecutive victories) to which she could not give continuity. The Tunisian’s strength and variety of resources are almost unmatched on the women’s tour today. Faced with Garcia’s power, Jabeur responded with patience and slice shots, trying to slow down the game and impose her pace. Her versatility and her confidence led her to her first Grand Slam final, the first for any African player in US Open history. “I feel great. I was under a lot of pressure after Wimbledon and I’m relieved to see that I was able to back up those results,” Jabeur said after the win.
After the duel between two of the most fit tennis players of the moment, it was the turn of Iga Swiatek, leader and favorite for everything on the WTA circuit. In front of her, she had Aryna Sabalenka, number six in the world, who made things very difficult for her. So much so that she forced the Pole to come back after winning the first set and put her on the ropes in the third and final set (3-6, 6-1, 6-4, two hours and eleven minutes). It was her second comeback of the tournament, after the round of 16 match against Jule Niemeier, albeit from a very different turn, as Swiatek came really close to defeat.
In the first set, Sabalenka showed great aggressiveness, especially to the rest, one of the keys to her advantage on the scoreboard. He fell in the second, where the number one was much more solid and less erratic, as well as just as threatening as the rest. Despite the negative dynamics, the Belarusian recovered and continued to respond forcefully to her rival’s services, breaking serve and going up 2-4. But Swiatek is much more reliable than Sabalenka, and the latter’s unforced errors, coupled with her problems with double faults, doomed her.
“Before I used to feel like my emotions were taking over me and I would panic a bit when I lost. Right now, it’s easier for me to think about what I can change. I feel like I have more skills to do that. I think that’s the most important thing to a high level,” Swiatek said after the semi-final matchup. “I never trust myself, but it’s not a negative thing for me. Having doubts is not good, but I find it motivating to have to improve to get that confidence,” he confessed. Perhaps a victory at the US Open, which would be her second major title of the year, will help her have that confidence that should characterize the best tennis player in the world. It will not be easy, with Ons Jabeur and her thirst for revenge after the loss in the Wimbledon final facing her.
